A federal appeals court has refused to reinstate Maine's 72-hour waiting period on gun purchases while a Second Amendment lawsuit plays out.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey had appealed an earlier ruling by a federal judge that suspended Maine's new law requiring gun buyers to wait three days before taking possession of the firearm. That judge, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker, had called the waiting period "indiscriminate" because it applies to all purchasers, regardless of whether they pose a threat to themselves or others.
Frey then asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston to allow the state to continue enforcing the waiting period while the court hears the case, arguing that such laws save lives. But on Thursday, a 3-judge panel rejected the request to at least temporarily reinstate the law as it considers the broader arguments.
"Because the case presents questions of first impression in an emerging area of constitutional law involving a legal standard that is difficult to apply and subject to varying interpretations, we are not persuaded that the Attorney General has made a 'strong showing' that he is likely to succeed in demonstrating that the district court abused its discretion in granting preliminary injunctive relief, and the case does not present unusual circumstances involving a 'particularly severe and disproportionate' harm to one side," the judges wrote.
The judges went further to say that the attorney general's failure to request a speedy review of the request or the appeal undercuts any arguments that reinstating the law was necessary to prevent "irreparable harm."
Several gun dealers and a self-defense school instructor are challenging the constitutionality of the 3-day waiting period, saying it violates the Second Amendment of individuals who pass background checks and pose no threat to themselves or others. Supporters of the law, meanwhile, say waiting periods save lives by preventing impulsive suicides and homicides.
Gun owners' rights groups regard the lawsuit as a potential test case of waiting period laws nationwide.
The bill narrowly passed the Democratic-controlled Legislature last year as part of a suite of gun control measures that gained traction after the mass shooting in Lewiston in October 2023 that left 18 people dead. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills allowed the bill to become law without her signature.
